The Dublin launch follows the recent signing of the agreement between Big Bus Tours and the Dualway Group to acquire the company’s Dublin based hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour operated by Irish City Tours.

Following the approval of the acquisition by the Competition Authority, Dublin is the 20th city to join the ever-expanding global portfolio of Big Bus Tours, with strong links to the USA thanks to over 27 transatlantic flights per day.

With the Big Bus ‘Hop-On Discover, Hop Off Explore’ approach to city tours, Dublin is a perfect addition to the portfolio given its UNESCO City of Literature status together with its famed writers, poets, musicians and culture.

Alex Payne, Chief Executive, Big Bus Tours, said: “Dublin is a world-class tourism destination that is seeing strong growth in visitor numbers year on year. It complements the Big Bus portfolio perfectly and will bring us another step closer to our vision, to become the number one thing to do in every world-famous city. As an ‘owner-operator’, Big Bus Tours is able to use its global portfolio to develop best practices for use across all its cities and deliver high standards of customer service, which has resulted in Big Bus Tours being ranked the number 1 bus tour on TripAdvisor in the open-top sightseeing category in almost every city we operate in.

“Irish City Tours already run an excellent operation and it is an exciting time to acquire such a professionally run business, which has been successfully showcasing the Emerald Isle’s capital city to visitors since the 1990s. As a result of such success, the existing leadership will remain in place as we believe their experience and commitment, coupled with our proven formula of building successful operations in cities across the world, will enable us to further enhance the customer experience, and value for money. We look forward to working with all key Irish City Tours partners to ensure mutually beneficial growth.”

David McConn, Managing Director, Big Bus Dublin, former Managing Director of Dualway Group Ltd, said: “We are proud to officially announce the acquisition of our Dublin City hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour, by Big Bus Tours with the launch today. The synergies between Big Bus and Irish City Tours through the shared vision, commitment and belief in the provision of exceptional customer experiences make this a perfect fit. It is an exciting time to be joining the Big Bus team and continuing to grow the Dublin operation into the future.”

Nial Ring, Lord Mayor of Dublin, said: “It is great to see that the world’s largest open-top sightseeing tour operator has launched operations in Dublin. This is another endorsement of the magnificent Dublin tourism experience. We have seen significant a growth in tourism this year, with many overseas visitors, particularly from the USA, visiting Dublin. A Big Bus Tour is one of the many ways for visitors to make the most of the city, with local Dubliners showcasing the best of what our historic city has to offer and their presence here is most welcome.”

Through combined experience and with an excellent team of live guides already in place, visitors to Dublin will continue to enjoy the live guide experience. Thanks to the Big Bus Tours training programme, which produces the best on-street staff and tour guides in the world, Dublin’s Big Bus Tours team will engage, inform and entertain customers in this historical city, providing a multitude of options for passengers to hop off and explore the city’s Georgian streets, medieval churches, and taste its world-famous Guinness stout.

Dublin joins the world-famous European cities in the Big Bus Tours portfolio, including London, Paris, Rome, Budapest, Vienna and Istanbul.

As market leaders in the field, customers will enjoy technology advancements implemented by Big Bus Tours over recent years, including digital content, free wi-fi, real-time bus tracking, and the ability for customers to locate their nearest stop through the mobile app.

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Michael Flood is the Editor of Ireland's leading travel industry publication, Irish Travel Trade News. With more than 35 years experience, he has accumulated an in-depth knowledge of the airline industry and the travel and tourism world.